J Is For Jelly, So Jazzy

April 12, 2016January 28, 2021 / Ally Bean / 38 Comments

“It must be jelly ’cause jam don’t shake like that.”

These are the lyrics from an old song. I didn’t know the source of this saying, but that’s what I discovered. And what a cool discovery it is.

I’m familiar with this saying because Zen-Den says it every so often. It’s part of his repertoire of sayings intended to describe + amuse anyone who might be listening.

Which is what I think you, my gentle readers, should do now.

Listen and watch Ray McKinley & The New Glenn Miller Orchestra perform a swinging jazzy rendition of this song, and learn about the saying… in context.

It’s fascinating, as you will hear.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCkJ3Uviv-I

“And lay it on me…”

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D Is For Doughnuts, Darn It

April 5, 2016May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 46 Comments

I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts

… is a saying dating from 1904. It means you are so confident about what you know that you’re willing to bet on it. That is, a dollar has more value than a doughnut, so you are willing to give long odds, knowing that you’re going to win.

On the surface this saying has nothing to do with doughnuts, per se. In fact, some 1880s versions of this saying were “dollars to buttons” or “dollars to dumplings.”

There was even a “dollars to cobwebs” version of this saying. Shocking that it didn’t catch on, eh?

But being of a contrary mind, I have to wonder if the fact that doughnuts look like little zeros contributed to the popularity, and subsequent staying power, of this particular version of the saying.

I mean think about it, once in a while who doesn’t like to talk about doughnuts [or donuts, if you lean toward the more modern spelling]?

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{ SOMETHING TO WATCH FOR FUN }